A group of that includes North Carolina NAACP President William Barber is facing trial on charges stemming from mass protests at the state legislature.

The Rev. Barber and Duke University professor Tim Tyson were among 12 defendants who appeared Tuesday before Wake County District Court Judge Joy Hamilton on charges for second-degree trespassing, failure to disperse and violating building rules. All have pleaded not guilty.

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North Carolina General Assembly Police Chief Jeff Weaver testified Tuesday that the legal underpinning for the arrests was that Barber and the others had created a disturbance by singing and chanting while blocking the front doors of the House chambers.

Under cross-examination Weaver conceded that legislators were not in session at the time of the arrests and that the doors were locked.